Prequel: The Fourth Year
by AnonymousTeaCup
Summary: This story takes place during the fourth year of the Marauders, Lily, and their peers. James is arrogant. Lily is confused and infuriated. Snape is bitten by the love bug. Their friends are along for the ride. Meanwhile, He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named is rising to power. Please, read and review.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter One

Disclaimer: I do not own any characters or plot lines that have been previously conceived by JK. Rowling.

"Ah, James!" Lily shrieked.

A smile flashed across James' face as he heard her footsteps trickle down the stairs that led from the girls' dormitories. Lily's patience had been growing thin over the past couple of weeks. The Marauders knew her to be a very kind and giving girl, but James had taken to making her the target of his pranks recently. Remus didn't quite understand it and Peter never had much to say against his role models. Sirius, of course, was willing to go along with anything that might turn out to be funny. Marlow, Lily's best friend, sat across the room working on her Potions' assignment. Remus met her gaze, and she rolled her eyes.

"You rang, Evans," James retorted in a snarky manner.

Lily held a pile of ashes in both of her hands, and the look that crossed her face was one of immense frustration.

"James, why did you disintegrate my book? I had just reached a big cliffhanger," her voice was calm but annoyed. James just smiled and leaned back in the big, comfy armchair that he was currently occupying.

"What makes you think that I did it?" James asked, innocently.

Lily crossed her arms over her chest and tilted her head to the side. It was like she was dealing with a mischievous toddler.

"Are we really going to have to play this game?" Lily asked. "Of course it was you, James. You've been pulling little tricks on me for a while now, and I really think it is just about time that they stop. Please, reassemble my book." Her voice was simple but firm.

There was silence for a moment as James appeared to be thinking about his options. Remus was reading his own book, Peter was watching the situation intently, and Sirius was ready to play sidekick if needed.

"You know, Evans," James began, "I don't think of will reassemble that little book of yours."

"Is that so?" She replied, clicking her tongue, "And why is that?"

"Because you need to live. You need to experience life instead of reading about it. I have a feeling that if you were busy living life you would realize that you are a Gryffindor and your little Slytherin friend is not ideal company." Lily rolled her eyes.

"Why is it that you cannot see that what house we are all in does not matter? I know that you take great pride in being a Gryffindor, but so do I. I will associate with members of other houses, and I think that that makes me especially brave. I'm not afraid of what others may say. If I find someone who I see as a worthy friend, I will accept them as such." Lily explained.

"I'm merely operating through history, Evans." James argued, "There's a value in being kind, but there is ignorance in being too kind. Face the reality of the situation. He is a Slytherin. Slytherins are notoriously evil. When you join their house, I'm surprise that you don't get your own manual on how to be evil and corrupt small children. I'm just surprise someone as smart as you cannot see through the obvious disguise that this sniveling friend of yours in putting on."

Lily's eyes widened with each word she heard come out of James' mouth. Remus thought to himself how harsh James was coming off.

"James Potter, I never knew that you were that cold-hearted. You like to have your games, and it's funny how you think those don't hurt others. For as long as I have been at Hogwarts, I have seen you and your groups of misfits attack others much more than I have seen Severus do anything harmful to another student. Maybe you need to re-evaluate yourself before you pass judgment on others." She continued, before walking away, "Don't worry about my book, I'll fix it myself."

She left through the porthole, and James smirk, as she walked away, disintegrated ever so slightly. Sirius patted his friend on the back.

"Don't let her get you down, mate," Sirius began. "She just doesn't understand that you are trying to look out for her."

"I wonder if she even knows about all the muggle attacks recently," James replied frustrated.

Remus put his book down, feeling that now what as good a time as any to jump in with his two cents.

"Guys, do you ever think that pranking Lily is not the way to convince her to trust your opinion?" There was silence for a minute.

"No," James and Sirius responded in unison.

"We are the Marauders," James added. "We use pranks to teach lessons to others."

Sirius chimed in, "Plus, the pranks we pull on Evans aren't really cruel. If anything, we are giving her the easy stuff. Only cause Prongs has the hots for her." As Sirius shook his best friend around the shoulders, James slapped his hands away.

"I do not!" James laughed. "I'm just looking out for my fellow Gryffindors, and with all the muggle violence happening, I'm starting to worry that she's in a lot more danger than she realizes. She's too smart and kind for her own good, and I'm just going to have to be that villain that helps her see that she needs to be careful."

Remus shook his head.

"If you say so, Prongs." He replied, "But don't be shocked if that doesn't bring you two closer together."

As Lily walked down the Grand Staircase to the Library, she found herself thinking about the conversation she had just had. How could it be that dangerous to be friends with a Slytherin? They were just like everyone else. Weren't they? Obviously, they were a little different. That is the whole point of the sorting anyone, right? Gryffindors are brave. Ravenclaws are wise. Hufflepuffs are kind. Slytherins are... What are Slytherins again?

"Lily," came a familiar voice, "fancy running into you here. That's a curious pile of ashes you're toting around. May I ask why?"

Severus had a light tone, and Lily pushed her previous thoughts out of her mind.

Lily sighed, "It was the current novel that I was reading," Severus watched as a frown appeared on her face. "I was headed to the library to see if Madame Pince could restore it."

Severus put his hand on her shoulder to stop her. "Don't bother. I can fix that," he pointed to the ashes in her hands, "if you fix this," his pointed to her frown.

Before Lily could speak, Severus waved his wand over her hands. The book reappeared from the ashes and a lily appeared right on top of it.

"There," he said, "That's better."

Lily was thankful for what Severus had done, but the flower was a bit much. Maybe she was imagining it, but recently she'd started to notice something different in the way he acted around her. She wasn't sure she liked it sometimes.

"Thanks, Sev," she replied, picking the flower off the book and placing it in one of the decorative vases along the windows. "Where are you headed?"

"Oh, nowhere in particular," he replied with a bit of a frown. "Say, how did you set your book on fire in the first place? I thought you were a friend to all literature."

Lily rolled her eyes at the thought of what happened earlier.

"I didn't do it; James did."

"Potter," Severus muttered in disgust. "He is a plague upon this school."

"I don't understand him," Lily began.

"What's there to understand? He's a cruel little worm that enjoys nothing more than inflicting pain and misery on others. No matter how innocent they are."

For some reason, Lily thought she'd heard this little speech before in the Gryffindor Common Room. She was starting to get annoyed with all these lectures. How long would it take them to learn that so much hate could not possibly make peace.

"Yeah, well, thanks for fixing my book, Sev," Lily said, "I'm off to devour it up before someone sets it on fire again." With a little laugh, she sprinted off before Severus could say another word.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

Disclaimer: I do not own any characters or plot lines that have been previously conceived by JK. Rowling.

Marlow and Lily sat at the Gryffindor table in the Great Hall eating their breakfast Marlow was the only friend Lily felt she could confide in about the mini-war going on between James and Severus. The girls had chosen a seat further away from the Marauders. They didn't want them close enough to be tempted to speak to them.

"You know what all this sinister talk is, don't you?" Marlow smiled. "They both have the hots for you. The question is do you have the hots for either of them?"

Lily blushed and shook her head with her eyes closed, making Marlow laugh.

"What do you think they're talking about?" James asked Sirius, not looking away from the girls.

"And just why does it matter," Sirius replied with a smirk.

"It doesn't," James said, turning away from their direction. "I'm just being nosey I suppose. I mean they are kind of being very loud anyway. It's a bit rude."

Remus and Sirius laughed at their friend's obvious new obsession. Peter was too busy stuffing his face to notice what was going on.

"Marlow, you know I could never feel that way about Sev. He is a friend and that's all."

"And James?" Marlow inquired, "Is he your friend, too?"

"No," Lily shot, and then thought for a minute, "Yes. I don't know. I've never really given him or any of the Marauders much thought."

Marlow shrugged, "Maybe you should start thinking about them."

Lily shook her head. "I think you're dreaming. James is too busy hexing innocent students to care about anything romantic. And I know that is not the type of person I could _ever_ be with."

Suddenly, the owls began to fly in with the _Daily Prophet. _It would have seemed like any other normal day if a mass of whispering hadn't erupted in the Great Hall. After what seemed like forever, Snowflake, Marlow's owl, dropped a copy of the paper in front of her.

"Muggle-born witch attacked outside of **The Three Broomsticks," **read the front page.

Lily stopped mid-bite.

"Unbelievable," was all Marlow could mutter.

It was as if everyone was beginning to understand what was happening at the same time. For the past couple of weeks, there had been rumors of wizards and witches attacking muggles, but none of those had been confirmed. At the Gryffindor table, Lily felt many eyes falling on her as well as some of the other muggle-borns in her house. At the Ravenclaw table, most seemed to be discussing possible outcomes and unravelings of this event. The Hufflepuffs were a bit more invest; the attack had been made on Charlie Lanum's mother. He was not present for breakfast, but his house seemed to feel sympathy for his situation. The Slytherins, on the other hand, seemed mostly uninterested in the whole matter. Severus didn't even seem shocked.

"Just goes to show you that stupidity affects all kinds," Lily said, shaking her head.

As Lily and Marlow made their way to Transfigurations, they noticed the Marauders weren't far behind them. Lily slightly nudged Marlow's shoulder, getting her attention.

"Let's speed it up a bit," Lily whispered. "I'd rather not here James' ideas on what we read in the _Prophet _this morning."

They began to move a bit faster when Mulciber and Avery, two Slytherins Lily had seen hanging around with Severus, came around the corner grinning.

"Excuse us," Marlow said, trying not to stop so they would move. However, she bumped off of Avery and stumbled back.

"Well, well, if it isn't one of Hogwarts' own mudbloods," Mulciber clucked and Avery nodded.

Lily was shocked. She'd never heard that term used so openly before.

"What did you just call me?" she replied with a voice of disbelief.

"You heard me," Mulciber answered. "You're a mudblood." Lily gasped that he had the gall to say the term again.

"You-" Lily began, but the Marauders had caught up to them.

"Correct me if I'm wrong, Mulciber," came James' voice, "I could've sworn I heard the filthiest, most vile term come out of your mouth when addressing Evans." Avery laughed along with his friend.

"Yeah, so?"

James looked at Sirius, "What do you think, Padfoot?" Sirius smirked.

"Well, I think we ought to set their pants on fire," he replied.

Lily watched as the two began discussing Mulciber's fate. What was this going to solve? What was Lily supposed to do when she ran into these thugs without James and Sirius around? She couldn't let this go on any further.

"That is enough!" She snapped, "There will be no retaliation from either of you. I can take care of myself. Mulciber, Avery, I was shocked by your use of such a derogatory terms, but then I realized that it is hard to expect anything else from such vile ogres as yourselves. I really do hope that you spend our remaining years at Hogwarts trying to develop a brain, but I suppose I won't hold my breath."

With that, she pushed her way through them and walked speedily to her classroom with Marlow in tow. Mulciber and Avery had watched the girls storm off, so it was a surprise when James pulled Mulciber to him by his collar.

"Don't you _ever _use that word against her or any other Gryffindor again. If you do, I'll know." His voice was threatening, but there was no guessing how seriously they took it.

A week later was their first trip to Hogsmeade. Things had gotten worse for muggle-borns in the media. There was no allusion to who may be performing all these attacks. The professors seemed unnerved by this visit to Hogsmeade, so there seemed to be a bit more precaution. Every corner held someone for supervision.

It was a tradition by now that the Marauders' first stop in Hogsmeade was Zonko's Joke Shop. They were always in need of pranking supplies. Remus found the whole ritual sort of funny. Neither James nor Sirius were dumb when it came to academics, but if they put the same amount of planning and dedication into their schoolwork as they did in their pranks they would probably be at the head of their class.

"We definitely need more dung bombs and fireworks," James noted as he checked their inventory.

Maneuvering around the shop, Sirius bumping into Professor McGonagall. This was a very rare sight. Remus supposed that she was only there to provide more surveillance.

"McGona- Professor McGonagall," Peter stammered in shock.

"Hello, Mr. Pettigrew," she sighed and turned to address the other boys. "Potter, Black, Lupin. It's strange to finally see where all of your money goes."

"You have to admit, Professor," James began, "Hogwarts won't be nearly as entertaining once we're graduated."

"I'm not sure if entertaining is the proper term," she replied with a glint in her eye and moved to check on the other students.

"We're her favorites," Sirius declared smugly, and they continued on their mission.

Meanwhile, Lily and Marlow decided to visit the local Hairdressing salon. Marlow had convinced Lily it was time to spice of her look and get refreshed. With all of the stress and attention she had been under lately, Lily agreed. Her hair was one length to stretched to her waist. It was sort of plain apart for the vibrant red color.

"This is what I do when I'm down," Marlow stated happily. "Well, a varying degree. Sometimes I get my nails done."

"I'm not down," Lily replied. "I only agreed to do this, because I was sick of putting up with all of my hair."

Marlow pushed open the shop door, and Lily was immediately escorted to a chair. A small, plump woman with electric blue logs draped a cape over the front of her clothes and began playing with Lily's waves.

"I know the perfect hairstyle," she determined, and without asking Lily for approval, she began cutting.

Lily wanted to leave immediately. She'd never had a magical haircut before, and after glancing at the blue style of the woman, she wasn't sure she trusted her judgment.

"Relax," Marlow whispered when she saw Lily's shoulders tense up.

Later that evening, the Marauders were seated in the Common Room, plotting out their next big prank, when the girls walked in.

"Holy Hell," Sirius whispered upon glancing up when he heard the portal open.

"What is it?" James followed his gaze upon hearing him.

He choked on the gum he was chewing. The Marauders just sat there for a minute admiring Lily's new look. Her hair was layered and cut to shoulder-length. She has also gotten her bangs cut. It was like she was a completely different person. However, because they were boys they just knew that something was different and she looked nice.

"Lily," came the voice of a fifth year by the name of Charlie. He was a tall, lanky fellow with brown hair and brown eyes. "Did you do something different? You look different?" he asked with a smile.

Lily blushed and told him she had cut her hair. Marlow stood by her as the older student complemented her and began to flirt a little. James couldn't hide the jealousy he felt at that moment.

"What's the matter, Prongs?" Sirius teased.

"Absolutely nothing," he responded, turning back to his plans.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three

Disclaimer: I do not own any characters or plot lines that have been previously conceived by JK. Rowling.

It was two weeks before the Christmas holidays started, and the students of Hogwarts filled the halls with cheer as they knew they would have a temporary break from their studies soon. Things had been rocky between Severus and Lily since her incident with Mulciber and Avery. When she had confronted him about what happened, Severus had taken a nonchalant approach. He had asked her what she'd done to provoke what happened. He explained that they were probably getting carried away with all the excitement. Excitement? How was attacking innocent witches and wizards exciting? Severus had explained that the attacks were part of a much larger movement that didn't have anything to do with the pureness of one's blood. Lily was appalled, and that's when she realized that she could no longer talk to him openly about how this "movement" made her feel. Whenever she brought up things that upset her from time to time, Severus would only shoot back with how Lily didn't exactly stand up for him when the Marauders were involved. It was a battle that neither of them seemed to be able to win.

"Lily, I know that you have been friends with each other since childhood, but you are allowed to grow apart, " Marlow stated. "Considering that you are both is enemy houses and have remained friends this long, I would say it was a valiant effort." Lily shrugged.

"Maybe, you're right."

Marlow had volunteered to help decorate the Great Hall as a last stitch effort to receive extra credit in Charms class. Lily was helping purely because it was one of her strengths.

"Could you hand me that ornament?" Marlow asked, and Lily complied.

Currently the duo was erected a huge Christmas tree made purely out of ornaments. This was sure to impress Professor Flitwick. Lily was dotted some of the empty areas with candy canes when another thought popped into her mind.

"What if he's already not my friend, and he is purely using me to gain information about muggles?" Marlow rolled her eyes and levitated an bright green orb.

"He wouldn't do that, Lily."

"How do you know? He obviously doesn't see the harm in the new developments around the wizarding world."

"Don't you think it's a little funny that Mulciber and Avery haven't messed with you since that one event you told Severus about?" Lily tried to recall if this was true. "I heard that after you told Sev was happened, he went down to the Dungeons and threatened them within an inch of their lives. He may seem weak physically, but that boy has a brain and I wouldn't want to duel with him. He would never purposely let someone harm you, Lily." Lily's face fell in shame for what she'd thought of her rocky friend.

"I suppose you're right." She affirmed, and positioned the last decoration.

Climbing down from her latter, Marlow chimed, "Speaking of duels, have you practiced for our midterm in Defense Against the Dark Arts?" Lily looked at Marlow with a glance that let her know that she already knew the answer.

"Of course, you did! How silly of me," she replied sarcastically. "Who do you think we'll get paired up to duel?"

"It could be anybody." she shrugged. "Maybe we will have to fight each other." This made Marlow shiver.

"Not cool. I might enjoy having a go at Avery though. The things he says in class make me what to punch him." Lily laughed and they exited the Great Hall.

Before they knew it, their midterms were upon them and they had completed all but two. Their Defense Against the Dark Arts exam would take place that afternoon, while their Care of Magical Creatures would occur right before most students would leave for the holidays. Marlow was still reviewing all of her dueling spells when she and Lily entered the DADA classroom. The Marauders were in their usual corner, acting as if they had not a care in the world (well, except for Peter). Some Slytherins were gathered around the latest anti-muggle article in _The Daily Prophet._ Severus was off to the side waiting for the girls to arrive. The other students seemed to fill the spaces in between.

"Hello, ladies," Severus greeted flatly. "Are we ready to show off what we know?"

"Something tells me you are." Marlow replied, grudgingly.

"Don't mind her," Lily assured when Severus' face looked surprised. "She's just mad because you can invent your own spells."

Severus clicked his tongue, "It's not a competition, Mar." She looked at him in disbelief.

"First off, you only say that because you're already one of the beast. Second off, it totally is a competition, because we are literally aiming at each other, trying to defeat one another. So hush while I try to mentally absorb all of this material in the next 2 minutes." Marlow got testy when she was stressed.

She walked over to the nearest empty desk and took a seat with her head draped over the textbook. This left Lily and Severus alone to talk.

"So, I haven't hung around you in a while. How are things going?" Severus asked, noticing that James was glancing their way.

"Oh, you know. The usual. Study, study, homework, study," She replied with a laugh. "What about you?"

Severus glanced at Mulciber and Avery as if he couldn't reveal what he'd been up to without mentioning their names.

"Ah, I see," Lily said dismissively.

By that point, Professor Redtrough had entered the classroom and was now standing at the front of the room, beside an aisle that Lily only assumed would reveal their pairings.

"Good afternoon, class," The professor greeted, "I assume that you are ready to be rid of your Defense Against the Dark Arts midterm once and for all, so I'll explain the rules briefly and we shall commence." Marlow's nerves were getting the best of her and she tuned out just exactly what the professor was listing. She tuned back in just in time to hear him say, "And please, do not set your classmates ablaze." She felt like she had to swallow her heart to keep if from exploding out of her. Suddenly, the professor yanked away the covering of the aisle and their destinies were revealed:

James vs. Peter

Remus vs. Mulciber

Lily vs. Avery

Severus vs. Anabeth

Mildred vs. John

Marlow vs. Sirius

... That's all Marlow needed to read.

"Are you serious?" she mutter, and Sirius turned around to wink at her.

"Why yes I am, sweetheart." Marlow gaped at him, and slammed her book shut.

The duels went by, in what felt like forever to Marlow, in their allotted time. James had defeat Peter. Remus had outsmarted Mulciber. Lily had annihilated Avery. Severus had tried to be easy on Anabeth. Mildred and John were finishing up with Mildred winning. Soon it was Marlow's turn to duel Sirius, so she took a deep breath, shook off her robe, and grabbed her wand, making her way to the stage. Sirius seemed to sense how nervous she was, and he latched on to it.

"Don't worry, love," he began as they got in place. "I'll make it all better once I'm threw." Marlow made a disgusted face. Was he hitting on her?

"Keep talking, Black," she retorted, lifting her wand. "I'm going to wipe that smug look right off your face."

"Wands at the ready," Professor Redtrough began, "go!"

Marlow shouted, "Expelliarmus!" and Sirius flew through the air. He landed with a thud, and when he got back to his feet his face was red with anger.

He cast a seize and pull charm at her, and Marlow froze and starting flying through the air toward him. Marlow pulled herself up, and immediately through a hex his way. Their duel continued in this manner until Marlow shot up a hex-deflection and hit Sirius with a hex of her own that knocked him off the stage. She was declared the winner, and that's how she received an A on her DADA midterm.

The scene outside of the DADA classroom was not so triumphant. Sirius caught Marlow off guard from behind and levitated her into the air.

"Sirius, put her down," Lily demanded, as she knew that Marlow was afraid of heights.

"It's okay, Lily. He's just mad that he got hexed up one side of the classroom and down another by a girl." Marlow responded, trying not to show her fear. "Do what you have to, Black, but maybe you ought to spend a little more time reviewing your DADA spells." At this remark, Sirius dropped Marlow to the floor and walked up to her so that their faces were only inches apart.

"Don't get too smug, love. I might have to knock you back down to size." He threatened, and Marlow's eyes narrowed.

"Give me your worst," she replied, caught up in the moment.

"You've got it, sweetheart," he growled, and James walked over to him.

"C'mon, mate. We have some prior plans that require our attention." As James dragged Sirius away, Lily and Marlow heard them talking about the previous duel.


End file.
